Tray



April 11, 1961 H. J. FRITZEL TRAY Filed 001;. 9, 1957 QNVENTOR. HENRY J. FRITZEL United States Patent 9 TRAY Henry J. Fritzel, 15904 Indes St, Granada Hills, Calif.

Filed Oct. 9, 1957, Ser. No. 689,100

1 Claim. (Cl. 211-88) This invention relates to trays for holding a variety of toilet articles and accessories and more particularly to such a tray and attachment means therefor for mounting onto conventional bath or shower fixtures.

In the past, trays have been provided for holding a variety. of toilet articles such as soap, shampoo containers and the like which are adapted to be supported or suspended on fixtures usually available in conventional showers and bathtubs such as hot and cold water faucet taps for example. Generally, trays of this type are designed for holding specific toilet articles and accessories and are not of a universal nature suitable for holding a variety of accessories having varying configurations. Furthermore, conventional trays when supported on the shower or bathtub fixtures may be easily upset since the tray is not firmly attached to the fixtures but merely rests thereon. Also, conventional trays are mounted on the fixtures in such a manner that convenient accessibility to the fixtures for adjusting water temperature of the shower or bath may. not be had. This feature is particularly undesirable in instances where the tray is not secured by some-fashion to the fixtures since the tray may be inadvertently upset. Usually, the receptacles provided in conventional trays are relatively large so that bottles or containers may be held and thereby these receptacles are unsuitable for. mounting relatively small toilet articles and accessories such as mirrors, tooth brushes and razors.

In accordance with the present invention, a tray is provided which overcomes the above difficulties by providing a plurality of receptacles of greatly dissimilar sizes for, receiving toilet articles and accessories which are of varying size and configuration in order to accommodate the individual accessories. Novel. means are also provided onthe tray for attachment to the fixturessavailable in the shower or bathtub so that, forall practical purposes, a permanent installation of the tray is achieved and thereby the tray may not be easily upset by inadvertent action.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a universal tray for holding a plurality of difien ent size and shaped toilet articles.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel tray mountable on available fixtures of a bathtub or shower having a variety of receptacles which will hold articles employed for shaving, shampooing, soaping, etc.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel mounting means on a tray adapted to hold various toilet article accessories so that the tray may be supported on available fixtures in a shower or tub and so that the tray may not be so easily upset.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting means for a tray which may be readily mounted on available fixtures in a tub or shower wherein the distance between fixtures may vary from tub to tub or shower to shower.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel mounting means for a tray which may be firmly secured to the fixtures in the shower or tub and may be readily detached from said fixture without the use of the face of the shower or tub wall.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tray having a receptacle for mounting an adjustable mirror thereon.

These and other objects will become more readily apparent upon a reading of the following specificationwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is aperspective view of a combined bathtub and shower showing atoilet article accessory tray in accordance with the present invention mounted on the shower and tub fixtures;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the tray employed in the combined shower and bathtub arrangement of Figure 1 showing a plurality of toilet articles represented by broken lines;

Figure 3 is atop view of the tray shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a side view of the tray taken in the direction of arrow 44 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the tray taken in the direction'of arrow 55 of Figure 2 showing the means for mounting the tray on' the shower/bathtub fixtures.

With referenceto Figure 1, a combination bathtub and a shower is shown comprising a tub 10 in a shower, defined by walls 11: and. 12. Water is provided to the tub via a faucet 13 whereas a shower spout 14 is employed to supply water to the shower area. Both faucet 13 and the spout 14 are connected to a common plumbing system (not shown) installed in the building construction; which is suitably connected to a water main (not shown). A shower handle 15 is employed to divert the water from the plumbing system to either the faucet or spout by rotatingin a counterclockwise direction. The temperature of the water is adjusted by proper manipulation of handles 17 and 18 which, in turn, regulate hot and cold water valves included in the plumbing system.

The bathtub and'shower fixtures which comprise the handles 15,]17and 18 are provided with a decorative trim cap or shield, such as shield 20 having a backslide 21 which generally screws about a shaft 22, as illustrated in Figure -5, and-normally butts against the face ofwall 11. Construction in this manner allows the handles to project beyond theface of the wall to a sufficient distance permitting easy accessibility to the handles. without en.- countering. interference with the wall face. Furthermore, each shield is; of'a generally conical shape having an annular surface 23 sloping away from the wall toward the handles. p a

In accordance withthe present invention, a basic. tray arrangement 24 is mounted on the fixtures adjacent wall 11 which comprises, in general, a back member 25, a front member 26, a pair of parallel sides 27 and 28 joining the front and back members and a partition 30 disposed substantially equidistant from the sides 27 and 28. As shown more clearly in Figure 3, a bottom 31 completes the basic construction of the tray and is provided with a plurality of drain holes such as hole 32, for voiding the tray of any accumulated water.

Construction in this fashion provides a pair of open areas 33 and 34 defined by the front and back members as well as the parallel sides and partition which may be employed to carry relatively large and bulky containers 35 such as are shown in broken lines.

The exterior of the sides 27 and 28 are provided with hooks 36 and 37 respectively, which may be employed to support various toilet or bathroom accessories such as tooth brushes, shower caps, body brushes, etc. Hook 37 carried on side 28 is of special configuration which includes a notch 38 defined by a pair of parallel projections 40 and 41 which suitably support items such as razor 42, for example. The books may be secured to Patented Apr. 11, 1961 3 the sides of the tray by any suitable means such as by employing cement or conventional fasteners.

The tray is further provided with a pair of receptacles 43 and 44 disposed on opposite ends of the tray which are of sufficient depth to support an elongated rod 45 which pivotally mounts a circular mirror 46. Each of the receptacles may be integrally formed with the front member 26 and respective sides 27 and 28 having substantially the same configuration as the rod so that an interference type fit is achieved. By employing a pair of receptacles, a person in the shower or tub desiring to use a mirror may place the mirror in either position which is of greater advantage to the user.

As shown more clearly in Figures 2, 4 and 5, back member 25 is substantially wider than front member 26 wherein the difference in width constitutes a flange member 47. The flange member extends from one end of the tray to its opposite end and is provided with an elongated slot 48 and a relatively short slot 49. Slot 48 is separated from slot 49 by means of a section 50. The flange member area immediately adjacent the slots 48 and 49 is readily engageable by the backside 21 of the fixture shields to retain and support the tray on the wall 11.

Inasmuch as fixtures 15, 17 and 18 may vary with regard to the distance between one another, or in the event that a shower handle is not available, flange member 47 may be easily mounted on the fixtures without regard to particular spacing since elongated slot 48 is of suflicient length to accommodate many variances of distance between fixtures.

With reference to Figure 5, it is seen that flange member 47 normally butts against the face of wall 11 and is secured thereto by means of a shield 20 associated with each fixture. In this manner, the tray is adequately supported and secured by the shields to the face of wall 11 and inadvertent engagement wth the tray will not cause it to be upset.

To provide adequate support for the containers carried in open areas 33 and 34 of the tray, the tray is provided with a plurality of stifleners, such as stiffener 51, which maintain the tray substantially rigid. Although the tray of the present invention may be made from any water repellant material, it has been found desirable to construct the tray of plastic composition by employing a suitable form of injection molding.

For actual installation, shield or trim caps 20 associated with each fixture are removed from their respective shafts 22 or at least loosened and drawn away from the face of wall 11 to provide a gap between the backside 21 of each shield and the face of the wall. This gap suitably accommodates the thickness of flange member 47 so that the flange member may be inserted between 4 the backside 21 of the shield and the face of wall 11. Upon the proper placement of slots 48 and 49 over the fixtures, the shield 20 may be rotated on its respective shaft 22 into clamping engagement with portions of flange member 27.

Therefore, it can be seen that the tray of the present invention is firmly supported on the fixtures against the wall which is not susceptible to inadvertent spilling or being upset. Furthermore, a variety of toilet articles may be held for convenient use which are various sizes and configurations. The tray of the present invention is easily mountable on bathtub and shower fixtures which have irregular spacing or the spacing of which may vary from tub to tub or shower to shower. Various modifications are contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A toilet article tray mountable against a wall on bathtub and shower fixtures equipped with trim caps adapted for selectively tightened engagement with said wall or means disposed between said trim caps and said wall, comprising a basic tray arrangement having a plurality of open receptacles for receiving articles, a downwardly extending vertical flange mounting member integrally formed with said basic tray arrangement at the rear thereof and adapted to abut against said wall above said fixtures, said flange mounting member having a pair of downwardly opening slots, one of said slots being adapted for downwardly slidable disposition about a fixture, the other of said slots being horizontally elongated and adapted for downwardly slidable disposition about at least another fixture and providing for such disposition over a range of horizontal spacings of the fixtures, and said basic tray arrangement extending outwardly from said flange member and said slots in said flange member terminating a distance from said tray arrangement providing for vertically spatially supporting said tray arrangement in a position affording ready access to said fixtures.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 805,145 Lewis Nov. 21, 1905 1,697,711 Brown Ian. 1, 1929 2,568,147 Fulton Sept. 18, 1951 2,717,175 Anderson Sept. 6, 1955 2,763,378 Black Sept. 18, 1956 2,797,816 Ross July 2, 1957 2,806,609 Grobizna Sept. 17, 1957 2,876,908 Mangum Mar. 10, 1959 

